Description
49WR is a long type chassis with engine number KT45; the chassis was completed in September 1928. In November 1928 the chassis was sold to Barker & Co. (Coachbuilders) Ltd. as stock. Barker built the beautiful 7-seater Enclosed Landaulette body on the chassis.
Early in 1929 Barker sold 49WR to their customer Mr Morris, who lived at 11A, Portland Place, London.
From the owner's card we know that on 20th October 1933 the Phantom was owned by Comm. H. D. Tollemache, who then lived at 8 Brayanston Square, London. When Commander Tollemache sold his car was not clear for a long time. A small oval plate in the car suggests that the Phantom was traded by Archie Simons & Co., but to whom and when it was sold is not clear.
After some research in the RREC archives it turned out that on 16th September 1955 the now Captain Tollemache, who then lived at Egerton Gardens, London, owned a 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III.
The story with the 49WR is that it was sold to an undertaker in Scotland, but then the owner's trail ends.
The next time we encounter 49WR is in the Netherlands. The Dutch license plate FS-00-41 tells us that the car was registered in the Netherlands in April 1965. The owner was the then Simca garage owner, Mr. v/ d Gun from The Hague. In 1975, Garage de Vaal had heard that the Phantom I was for sale at v/ d Gun. However, they were unable to reach a deal.
In 1975 the car was purchased by Mr. A. E. L. M. J. Palmen, known for the large Palmen collection that was housed in two large sheds and a church building in Dordrecht. Garage de Vaal knew that Mr. Palmen did not sell cars, but went on an adventure with him around 1996-1997. Unfortunately, as we expected, he did not want to sell the car. Eventually, de Vaal managed to make a deal with Mr. Palmen and traded the Phantom I for a car that Mr. Palmen did not yet have in his collection, namely a Jensen Interceptor III.
A family from Brabant bought the original Phantom I in April 2004 with the plan to keep it as original as possible.
This Phantom I is still in the same original condition as seen in 1975 by de Vaal, who after long deliberation bought the car back from this family from Brabant in 2024.
